Honduras develops and implements actions to strengthen the Network and renew the Virtual Health Libraries (VHL) national portal. The result of these actions was presented at the event to launch the new Honduras VHL portal and to celebrate the International Day of Nursing Professionals, in recognition of the work of these professionals for the health of the entire population.
The event was held on May 12 in hybrid form (in person and online) in the campus of the National Medical Library of Honduras (BIMENA), with the participation of health authorities of the country, professionals of the Faculty of Medical Sciences of the Autonomous University of Honduras (UNAH), PAHO/WHO Honduras, the coordination of the International Nursing Network of the VHL, and employees of the BIREME/PAHO/WHO.
As the Director of the PAHO/WHO EIH Department and Acting Director of the BIREME/PAHO/WHO, Sebastián García Saisó, could not participate due to scheduling issues, Verónica Abdala, manager of the Information Sources Services and Production area, and Juliana Sousa, supervisor of the VHL Instances and Projects Monitoring area, represented the Center and talked about the importance of BIREME technical cooperation through the Virtual Health Library (VHL) contextualizing the Honduras VHL.
The demonstration of the new portal of the Honduras VHL was carried out by the technical team thereof, presenting the sections of the portal, the implemented information architecture and the information sources that gather the scientific and technical literature from Honduras: national databases, Honduran medical journals, publications, medical theses, and open educational resources available in the Honduras node of the CVSP (Virtual Public Health Campus).
The portal offers access to other sources of information such as international databases, directories, and events, highlighted in general and of interest to users, information and research on the Honduran health sector, and information from the Honduras VHL Collaboration Network.
About the development of the Honduras VHL Portal
In order to strengthen the VHL and support the coordinators of the Networks in the organization of collaborative work, identification of challenges, projection of improvements and sustainability of the VHL, BIREME/PAHO/WHO promotes the development of Action Plans as a management tool, aimed at expanding access and visibility of scientific knowledge in health in the countries of the Region.
The renovation of the Honduras VHL portal is the result of the Action Plan 2020-2022, with the following activities: 1) Installation/updating of the WordPress version; 2) Mapping of contents and information sources; 3) Definition or adaptation of the portal’s information architecture; 4) Publication of the VHL Portal with updated information and design; 5) Configuration of the portal access measurement service; 6) Configuration of the integrated search service; and 7) Development of Windows of Knowledge linked to the country’s priorities or thematic area.
The updating process of the Honduras VHL portal included several virtual meetings between BIREME and BIMENA teams and the VHL coordination, for content mapping; review and updating of VHL data and its Cooperating Centers; creation of the FI-Admin database; integrated search interface facility; and definition of the portal’s graphic design.
The Action Plan 2022 is valid until December and the VHL coordination continues in working meetings for the continuous development and advancement in other lines for the strengthening of the Honduras VHL.